Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post, in which I’m thrilled to welcome back the fantastic Shauna Lawless, author of The Children of Gods and Fighting Men (2022) and The Words of Kings and Prophets (2023), two phenomenal historical fantasy novels that are out now from Head of Zeus (and are amongst my personal highlights of the year). In December 2022 Shauna wrote a brilliant post about historical fantasy as a genre, and now she’s back to talk about something slightly different – the tricky subject of endings in fiction, which seems appropriate given that the third book in her Gael Song trilogy is due out in 2024. But is that the end of the series? Read on, and find out…
Shauna Lawless: The end is nigh. It feels that way sometimes, doesn’t it? This year more than ever.
However, let us not be glum right now. Let’s leave the world of politics and world events behind us for a minute or two, pour ourselves a warm beverage, break open a hidden snack, and talk of something else.
For in this article, when I talk of endings, I’m only going to refer to writing and books.
Writing endings…yeah…that’s hard. The end.
No, only joking. I’ve more to say than that.
Writing an ending is hard, though. I didn’t quite appreciate that when I started my series. A beginning is easy. You might faff. You might realise that the beginning you have chosen is the wrong point to start. Still, aside from these difficulties, everyone can pen a beginning, even if the beginning remains elusive for a time.
But the end, oh the end. Why is it so hard?
How many threads must you weave to construct a compelling story? Many, is the answer. They dance and they don’t behave, and you haphazardly decide which ones to cut and which ones to weave into new stories and new characters. Is it even possible to catch them all as they fly overhead?
You must be careful. Break a thread too soon and you can end up in trouble, a plot with no character to lead it. Leave a thread running for too long, you may find yourself out of intrigue and inspiration. It’s like conducting an orchestra when you have a maestro violinist. Let them play and they will perform magic. Let them stray too far and the rest of the orchestra will stop playing because they have no idea what to do.
Is that the middle I’m talking about? Yes, I think so. Sorry.
But the middle is important because without a middle there can be no end.
And, oh, how to end it? Is it even possible?
I will be upfront and honest when I say that The Children of Gods and Fighting Men was meant to be a novella. Like maybe thirty thousand words. It’s now a trilogy, with three companion novellas, all of which total over half a million words.
If anything, this makes me the anti-ender. Indeed, I might be the most ill-qualified person to have written this article.
Except… with my last novel now handed in and my final novella in its final editing phase… I feel that I may have actually finished something.
Honestly, It’s as big a surprise to me as anyone.
So on we go to the actual question posed to me – what is it like to write an ending?
It is beautiful. Painful. Exhilarating. Lonely.
It’s like being Frodo when he comes back to the Shire. After being on an adventure so grand, you find yourself surrounded by a world that has no idea what your characters have gone through. As my moniker, The Emerald Empress of Grimdark, suggests, I make them go through quite a lot.
If my fellowship (comprising my husband, my mother, and a trusty crew of critique buddies) wasn’t reading my story with me, I’d be utterly lost. Or perhaps just forever on top of Mount Doom, holding onto the ring, and too afraid to throw it into the fire or walk away.
I do feel in this scenario my writing deadline – and the editor who enforces it – has become Gollum. (Sorry Greg, you know I love you!) Because this might be the only reason I’ve made it this far and actually finished it.
And thus, now I live in a bittersweet world, where my pain will soon become my reader’s pain. Will anyone weep upon finishing it like I did when I turned that last page of The Return of the King?
I mean, I kinda hope so.
Because isn’t that the point of endings? To feel it, but also to know that the world will continue. That there are more adventures out there to be had? More love to give. More tears to cry. More laughs to enjoy.
If that is a truth, here is perhaps the only advice I can give. Do not be afraid of the ending. Embrace it.
But now, here comes the rub.
I am extending my series. So, yes, while you do have an ending after the third book, I need you to know that the world is expanding into a story beyond the original three novels.
That’s right. I have NOT ended my story after all. Not completely.
Which makes me a charlatan.
A sneaky sneakster who made you read an entire article with no actual advice to give you.
What’s the first rule of writing?
There are no rules.
What is the first rule of endings?
The truth is, I don’t know. Does anyone?
Sorry about the lack of tangible advice. I hope you enjoyed your warm beverage and that your snack was tasty. I also hope you pick up your notepads or laptops and keep writing. As I said above, for there to be an ending, there must first be a beginning and a middle.
And don’t worry. If you write long enough, one day the end will find you.
I hope so anyway.
The end.
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Shauna Lawless is an avid reader of Irish mythology and folklore. As an Irish woman, she loves that Irish mythology has inspired so many stories over the years, however, she wanted to explore the history and mythology of Ireland in a more authentic way. She lives in Northern Ireland with her family. Her debut novel, The Children of Gods and Fighting Men, has been critically acclaimed. The Words of Kings and Prophets is the second volume in the Gael Song trilogy.
Follow Shauna on Twitter @shaunaLwrites, or on her blog at www.shaunalawless.com
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Thanks so much to Shauna for returning to Track of Words, writing this brilliant post and – most excitingly – letting us all know about the future of the Gael Song series! I don’t know about you, but I’m positively vibrating with excitement after finding out that there’s going to be more to come – The Children of Gods and Fighting Men and The Words of Kings and Prophets were so good, and I’m so excited for book three, but to know that there are still more books is just the icing on the cake!
See also: The Rise of Historical Fantasy – Shauna Lawless Guest Post
The Words of Gods and Prophets (Gael Song book 2) is out now from Head of Zeus – check out the links below to order* your copy:
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